1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to inputting data using computer input/output (I/O) devices and, more particularly, to a pointing device.
2. Description of Related Art
A typical computer system (e.g., a personal computer or PC, or a workstation) includes input/output (I/O) devices, for example, a mechanical mouse, a trackball, a touchpad, a digitizing tablet, a stand-alone joystick, a touchscreen, or a light pen as a pointing or selection device. These devices may be used to send signals to the computer system to move a pointer (e.g., a cursor or arrow) displayed on a monitor screen of the system in a graphic or other interface of a software application running on the system. The devices send signals to the system to make a selection from amongst items or objects displayed in the application on the monitor. I/O devices may be serial or parallel and coupled to the computer through corresponding serial or parallel computer ports.
Many of these I/O devices have been ergonomically designed and produced, and include, for example, movable balls held underneath the device or a touchpad. When a user moves the device around on, for example, a mousepad, the ball rotates, and the motion of the ball is converted into a signal which is input to the computer to move the pointer about the screen of the computer. Using the ball design requires the user to have a fairly large open space (xe2x80x9creal estatexe2x80x9d) on a surface, table, or desk on which to maneuver the device. If surface real estate is limited, such designs inefficiently use desktop space. The ball design also has exposed moving parts (e.g., the ball and its rotation sensors) that may become dirty or pick up lint/particles from the mousepad or desktop. Dirt may diminish the response and usefulness of such a device.
The touchpad eliminates the problem of lint/particles because it has no exposed moving parts, and it efficiently uses space. The touchpad, however, may not allow the sufficiently precise pointer positioning necessary for many programs, such as computeraided design (xe2x80x9cCADxe2x80x9d) programs. This is because of imprecision associated with sliding a finger on the touchpad as a means to move the pointer. The touchpad may also not appeal to the ergonomically aware and may not be the best tool for playing mouseenabled games.
The stand-alone joystick, which may be used with, for example, computer games, is coupled to an input serial port (e.g., a gameport) of the computer. A computer system having both a mouse and a stand-alone joystick would therefore require tying-up two of the system""s ports. Moreover, the stand-alone joystick requires the computer to be programmed with a separate controller than a mouse controller, and a separate driver than a mouse driver.
In view of the above, there is a need for an I/O pointing device that provides multiple features and precise pointer positioning, does not require an inordinate amount of desktop real estate, does not unnecessarily tie up additional computer I/O ports, does not require a separate controller, and does not require a separate driver.
The invention, in one embodiment, is a computer pointing device that includes: (1) a housing; (2) a first depressible button supported by the housing which, when pressed, causes a first signal to be generated; (3) a second depressible button supported by the housing which, when pressed, causes a second signal to be generated; (4) a cable coupled to transmit the first signal and the second signal; and (5) a lever pivotably coupled to the housing at one end.